Shoe heel covering and method of making the same



B. F. coNvY 234532 SHOE HEEL COVVERING AND METHOD OF MAKING' THE SAME Oct. 25, 1938.

Fileaneo. so, 1955 Patented Oct. 25', 1938 SHOE HEEL COVEBJNG AND DIETHOD F MAKING THE SAME Bernard F. Convy, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Convy Heel Covering Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation oi' Missouri t Application December 30, 1935, Serial No. 56,593

8 Claims.

The invention relates to shoe heels to which coverings are applied, such as a wooden or metal heel having a sheet of covering material cemented thereon. The invention consists in means and method for accurately simulating the familiar and attractive iinish provided by heels formed of leather lifts, and also in color variations of the same. Y

The art is acquainted with attempts to simulate a heel formed exclusively of leather lifts by photographing a flat development of a leather lift heel on to a sheet of Celluloid which is then applied to the heel proper, and it has been suggested that a coating of lacquer or other color material be applied over the photographed sheet.

Also novelty effects have been obtained by impressing upon a sheet of Celluloid surface indentations corresponding generally to leather grain or embodying other designs, and colors have been applied to such sheets.

All such heels made heretofore, so far as I am aware, have a slick glazedv artificial appearance which detracts from the simulation intended and renders the heel less desirable from an -appearance standpoint than a heel composed of leather lifts.

Also the finish is susceptible to deterioration due to the removal of the color material applied to the face of the Celluloid by scratching, abrasions, the weather, or combinations of these factors. As is well known in the trade, it is almost impossible to construct a French or Louis heel of leather lifts and possessing suillcient strength to be serviceable. Furthermore, any style .heel made of leather lifts, and particularly the cheaper heels formed by compressing leather scraps, are subject to early deterioration due to checking and the separation of the leather elements when wet.

40 'I'he m-ain object of the present invention is to produce a heel of wood or similar strong construction with a cover applied thereto which will simulate a high-grade leather lift heel and be free of the above mentioned objections to leather heels or to covered heels as heretofore manufactured. l

,Another object of the invention is to obtain novel color effects on covered heels in a manner which will avoid the early deterioration of the 0 heels appearance due to removal of particles of the coloring material.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which is to be understood as largely diagrammatical 55 due to the limitations of pen and ink drawing.

In the drawing the free-hand lining indicates contrasting light and shade and the dots or circles indicate surface irregularities of varying degrees. y

Figure 1 illustrates a heel made of leather lifts each comprising a sheet of solid leather and each presenting a different shade and texture to the eye depending upon the color of the piece of leather from which the lift was formed and upon the quality of the grain and the direction of the surface cut relating to the grain.

Figure 2 is a top view of a sheet of Celluloid or like material which has had photographed or ,imprinted thereon a light and shade or color reproduction of the light and shade or color of the leather heel shown in Figure l.

Figure 3 is an isometric view of a die or block of metal which has in bas-relief thereon a facsimile of the uneven surface qualities of the leather heel shown in Figure 1 which gives the leather its characteristic texture.

Figure 4 indicates a transverse section through the sheet of material shown in Figure 2.

Figure 5 shows a heel of Wood or like material having applied thereto the cover shown in Figure 2 but modified by the block shown in Figure 3.

The all leather heel l which forms the basis for the design of the finished product illustrated consists of a plurality of individual lifts 2, 3, 4, 5, etc., formed separately from strips of leather and having different widths and thicknessses as required to produce the desired contour of the heel. 'I'he successive lifts have individual coloring and graining which is inherent in the leather and is directly responsible for the pleasing variegatedeft'ect characteristic of such material. For example, some of the lifts will be much darker than others and some may have variation in the degree of light and shade from one side to the other. Some of the lifts will have fairly smooth surfaces where the cut has been made lengthwise of the grain and others will have pebbled or pocked surfaces most noticeable where the cut has been made transversely of the grain. 0n some lifts the relatively smooth sur- 45 face may extend throughout the perimeter of the heel and may be of a. constant shade of color while in other lifts there will be substantial variation both in texture and coloring as the eye follows the lift around the heel.

- Having selected an attractive leather heel as a model, the same may be reproduced on a at surface by photographing or by handicraft and` the design so produced may be photographed directly upon the outer face of a sensitized sheet 6 of Celu luloiii of about the size and shape shown in Figure 2; or, if preferable, the design may be imprinted on a sheet of ordinary Celluloid by any ordinary printing press method. When this step in the process is completed, the design may be of any given color tint which may be a convenient result of the reproduction process, and the lighter .tion containing alcohol and acetone or ansol or other Celluloid softening solutions, and while soft is submitted to an impressing or embossing action by the plate or block 1 applied to the front face of the sheet. This eliminates the slick glossy nish characteristic of. Celluloid natural finish.

Before or after sheet 6 is impressed by block 1, a coating 8 of lacquer or other coloring material is applied to the rear face of the sheet, rendering the product as a whole substantially opaque a1- thugh the design as now presented has a background of the coloring material which is seen through the transparent or translucent sheet proper but does not overlie and obscure or i'lll up the irregularities in the texture of the embossed face of the sheet.

The cover 6 is then cemented to a Wooden heel 9, with the coating 8 next to the heel, and a substantial duplicate of the original model results, particularly if the layer of color applied to the back of the sheet is tan or brown. By using coloring material substantially different from the original leather, such as red or green, pleasing novelty effects may be produced, but all characterized by a natural leather surface texture.

Preferably the photographic reproductions which are responsible for the variation in color indicated in Figure 2 and the variations in surface indicated in Figure 3 are made from the same subject and to the same scale and, as a result, the relation between the variations in color and variations in surface on the finished product will correspond to the relations on the original model.

I am aware that it has been proposed heretofore to groove a wooden heel in simulation of the lines between successive leather lifts and to cover the grooved heel with a sheet or material pressed into the grooves, but such steps produce a finished crevice which is unduly large and lacking in the sharp definition between the strata which results from a `cover produced as I have described above.

I am aware also that it has been proposed heretofore to emboss Celluloid or other covering with an al1-over relief design in solid color. Heels of the type just described have been marketed and sold to some extent notwithstanding their departure from the appearance of what may be considered the more natural or, at any rate, more familiar construction.

It will be understood that the reference herein to heels of Wood and to coverings of Celluloid are descriptive only and heel bodies of aluminum or other materials may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention, and the covering may be formed of any waterproof material which will receive'the imprint of the design and the indentations of the die block. I contemplate the exclusive use of these and other modifications in the materials used and the steps taken to produce such finished article which comes within the scope of my claims.

I claim:

1. A method of producing a shoe heel finish simulating a heel made of leather lifts which comprises photographing a leather lift heel surface onto a sensitized sheet of flexible material to reproduce on said sheet the light and shade of the leather lift heel surface, separately reproducing the surface texture of the same leather lift heel surface in bas-relief on said sheet to give the latter a. surface texture corresponding accurately to the irregularities of the grain and the edges of said lifts.

2. A method of finishing a cover for a shoe heel body of wood or similar construction so as to simulate a heel made of leather lifts which comprises photographing the light and shade of the leather lift heel onto the surface of a sensitized Celluloid sheet, softening the Celluloid sheet in a chemical solution, reproducing the surface texture of the same leather lift heel in bas-relief on said softened sheet with the elements reproduced in bas-relief in register with the same elements as photographed direct on the sheet.

3. A method of producing a shoe heel cover simulating a model heel made of leather lifts which includes photographing a leather lift heel surface on a sensitized face of a photographic sheet of translucent material, softening the sheet in a suitable chemical solution, embossing said sheet to reproduce the surface texture of said model heel on said face on the same scale as the photographic reproduction of said surface and applying a layer of color material to the opposite face of said sheet.

4. A covering for a shoe heel comprising a flexible sheet of Celluloid or similar material having photographed thereon the marking of the surface of a leather lift heel and having impressed thereon a bas-relief reproduction of the grain texture of the same leather lift heel with the same parts of the photographed and impressed reproductions being in register with each other to duplicate the appearance produced by the layers of separately formed lifts in the original heel.

5. A covering for a shoe heel comprising a sheet of flexible material bearing a photographic reproduction of the coloring and marking of a given leather lift heel, and having separately impressed therein, while softened from its normal condition of hardness, a bas-relief design reproducing surface texture of said leather lift heel, said photographic reproduction and impressed relief design being in register with each other so as to duplicate the color and surface texture relation of said leather lift heel.

6. A covering for a shoe heel comprising a flexible sheet of transparent Celluloid or other similar material having on one face thereof cooperating photographed `and embossed elements producing a desired design and having applied to the other face thereof a coating of opaque coloring material forming a uniform background for the design.

7. A covering for a shoe heel comprising a flexible sheet of transparent Celluloid or other similar material having photographically reproduced on one face thereof the design of the surface of a leather lift heel and having impressed on said face a bas-relief reproduction of the grain texture of a leather lift heel, the details of the photographic reproduction and the bas-relief reproduction being in substantial register with each other and having applied to the other vface thereof a coating of coloring material ofuniform thickness and rendering the design opaque.

8. The method of producing a shoe heel finish simulating a heel made of leather lifts which 10 comprises photographing a leather lift heel surface onto a sensitized sheet of flexible material to reproduce on said sheet the light and shade of the leather lift heel surface, separately reproducing the surface texture of the same leather lift heel surface in bas-relief on said sheet,v the corresponding portions of the respective reproductions being superimposed upon each other in the nished sheet. 

